Lindens Go Poof

Wow! Has this been an expensive weekend in SL. The Geeks'n'Nerds event is still on, the Arcade has opened, there were 10 billion Black Friday sales but it's been fun.  My outfit is an amalgamation of those two events plus other purchase from my 5 day shopping binge.

Credits:

From Geeks'n'Nerds:
Glasses: Ison: Pegley Glasses
Slink Nail Appliers: elephante poses: Once Upon a Dream
Poses: bbqq: from the Believe Set
From The Arcade:
Coat: Elate: Willow Coat: Solid Burnt Orange
Hair: Clawtooth: Closer: Coco
Necklace: Katatonik: Carousel Necklace: Sunny
Purse: Coco Animal Clutch: Dochi: Glitter Rare
Boots: Sleepy Eddy: Engineer Boots: Camel
Other:
Skin: Essences: Dyana: from last week FLF
Shirt: Pig: Dollinger Tank
Skirt: Maitreya: Leather Mini Skirt: Eden
Stockings: Izzies: Overknee Socks (incl. Slink Appliers): New Release

Collabor88: Bye Bye Lindens

Like every other budget-wise fashionista in Second Life, I adore Collabor88.  Lately, the collections have been simply outstanding and it becomes a true effort on my part to decide what to purchase and what I must live without.  It's not that I don't have clothes; my 100+ K inventory is a testament to that.  It's just that everything is so stinking well made and thus I would be a fool to wait and purchase it later at a higher price, and so my logic goes.  I must look good while hiding out on my platform!

R2 gets the win for the totally impractical but oh, so sexy kagaya bodysuit.  Mesh is nearly impossible to layer unless you have pieces from a set, but it reminded me of the skimpy clothing worn by the woman in the iconic Annie Lebovitz portrait of James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, that woman with the legs that went on forever, thus I had to have it.  I should have bought the nude but I love black.  Gos introduced his new Isabella sandals at Collab and of course I had to get the 3 pack.  I love his shoes but they do take a bite out of the wallet and it's like 3 pairs for the price of 3.

I was and am a HUGE Sopranos fan and this photo is etched in my brain.

Clawtooth made me drool with his new Windswept hair, also new at Collabor88. I've been following Bubbles since he started and this style reminds me of one of his first, Lola's Big Date.  It was very glamorous and this one is even more so, with a few air-brushed layers that gives it a nice sense of depth. He also makes some of the best reds on the grid and I pretty much favor them over my usual blonde.  Glam Affair is selling even more skins that I cannot live without, especially as I am a sucker for a smokey eye.  Lastly, not at Collab but special right now are HANDverk's Lion's Tail necklaces that are at a steep discount at We <3 Roleplay.  Sales are your friend!

Credits:
At Collabor88:
Bodysuit: R2: kagaya - black
Shoes: GOS: Isabella sandals
Skin: Glam Affair: Neva - Arctic 02b
Hair: Clawtooth: Windswept - Strawberry Cream

At Other places of awesomeness:
Necklace: HANDverk: Lion's Tail Necklace - bright: discounted at We <3 RP event (50% off)
Cupid Motel: 7 Emporium: was at a recent FaMESHED and being a sucker for roadside Americana I bought at first sight with my awesome Linden shooting trigger finger. Now at the mainstore.
Hands: Slink: Mesh Hands - Elegant

Culture Shock: Orion / Di's Opera / Mango Mango

First off, my apologies for the blogging gap, but several RL obligations have kept me from doing much on SL this week besides checking messages and sorting out a few things.  Right now there are so many events going on, many being fundraisers for awesome charities, that it is difficult to decide where to go first.  Both Skin Fair and Culture Shock will be ending on May 22nd so if you've not made it to either, now is a great time to go.

Orion Gant of Orion does great things with sculpts in his clothing and I've picked up many pieces over time.  He has 3 items where a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders as well as a new dress that is one of my favorites.

Summer Flowers comes in four colors with a dramatic sculpted skirt and floral trim on top.  The sculpts are modify and copy so you can adjust it to fit your personal shape.  Sileny Noel, of Mango Mango, has the lovely Vintage Sweetie skin available at Culture Shock and it was perfect for the clean retro look I was going for with Orion's clothes.  It is available in five skin tones.

Sileny has included many options in each skin pack.  I love her freckles but it also includes a non-freckled version as well as cleavage and various brow options.  She also made a full body freckle tattoo layer that I just love and you can pick up at Culture Shock.

I've way too many leggings (and skin and hair and shoes and dresses and poses and houses, etc.) and I've been starting to thin them out but the Zebra leggings from Orion are becoming fast favorites for me.  I really like the shading on them with adds to their realism.  The sculpted bottoms include both a copy/mod version and a resize scripted pair so that you can fuss with them to get them just right.  I've been completely gonzo for Di's Opera's Old Luggage set, also at Culture Shock.  There are three different bags as well as special poses (one shown above) included in the set.   It my latest fix for pixelated retro items.

One of my friends calls this my Bo-Peep dress but I've also been called Florence Henderson and Bea Arthur and I adore the Arienette 2 Dress. The Custard version above is exclusive to Culture Shock and I love it because I could play this dress so many different ways.  It could easily get myself up like campy Bo-Peep or grunge it up with heavy boots and messy hair, but I'm not going for Look of the Day here. I want you to see the hard work Orion put into the sculpts on this dress. Again, its modifiable for your fitting needs.

I need to get back to Culture Shock and get another good luck before all the wonderful exclusive items are gone after May 22.  For a map and complete list of store locations visit here.

Credits: (Culture Shock slurls should direct you to each store)
Photo 1:
Dress: Orion: Summer Flower - Rose: available at Culture Shock
Bracelets: Mandala: Milky Way Bangles
Hair: fri.day: Tatum
Skin: Mango Mango: Vintage Sweetie - Pale: available exclusively at Culture Shock
Photo 2:
Leggings: Orion: Zebra Leggings (also available in blue): available exclusively at Culture Shock
Shirt: GField: Ruffle Tops: Turquoise: available at Culture Shock: this one was free!
Bag/Pose: Di's Opera: Old Luggage: available exclusively at Culture Shock
Shoes: Theosophy: Caerau Ribbon Pumps
Necklace: Bliensen & MaiTai: Beware of Wolves: available exclusively at Culture Shock
Hair: Truth: Trinity
Photo 3
Dress: Orion: Arienette 2: Custard: available exclusively at Culture Shock
Bag: Di's Opera: Old Luggage: available exclusively at Culture Shock
Necklace: Artilleri: Chunky Bead Necklace (I've had this piece forever so Im not sure its still available)
Hair: Clawtooth: Woman of the Year

Culture Shock: The Sea Hole

Where do I start with my love for all things The Sea Hole? Drinkinstein Sorbet, the genius behind the store, ranks as one of my all time, always go back to designers for originality, humor and mad texturing skills.  I've been wearing her clothes for years, own many of her skins as well as her home and garden products.

Drink has 9 items she is offering at Culture Shock.  Her bold collection has a geometric theme and I love clean mod looks so this is big love for me. Culture Shock runs from May 1 - 22 (it JUST opened) and each of the 150 designers involved must provide at least 3 exclusive items where 50-100% of the proceeds is donated to Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), an independent humanitarian medical organization.

The Geometric Collection consists of a halter top, a belted mini skirt and an accessory set.  Each part is sold separately and is available in 3 different colors; Guiness (monotone), Peacock (blues) and Candy Canary (yellows).  These are made to mix and match and I particularly love using the Candy Canary accessories with the Guiness halter and skirt.  The skirt is a system skirt so my advice is to make a skirt shape copy of your shape so that you dont end up with a huge bubble butt.  For those new to this, copy your shape and take your butt size and saddlebags down.   I take mine down to zero, which would generally be pretty mannish, but I find necessary to achieve the slim look I love with this outfit.   There really isn't a better way to achieve a slim skirt like this that will work for many body types.

System skirts used to be used frequently but it had been awhile since I had worn a really short one.  I happened to be chairing a meeting the evening I put on the outfit and didn't notice until I cammed myself halfway thru the meeting that my sexy parts were exposed to the world.  So, word to the wise, wear a pair of panties underneath this skirt if you are going to be sitting in an group circle (blush).  We don't generally sit a lot in SL, so it's all good!

Thank you, Drinkinstein, for being so generous with your offerings for a great cause.  Modavia and  Chic Management have a map (Chic Mgt only) and complete list of slurls on their websites, which I have linked.  Go have fun, be groovy and spend lots of Ls for exclusive clothes!

Credits:
All Clothing and Accessories: The Sea Hole: exclusively at Culture Shock.
Skin: Fall Out / Fall In: Deliciouz in Devin: exclusively at Culture Shock
Hair:
   me 1: LOQ Hairs: Cheesecake: available exclusively at The Dressing Room Blue right now
   me 2: Elikatira: Comfort
   me 3: Clawtooth: Easy Breezy